Beyond Babedom

We're (way) over 40. Deal with it.

Hell Yes to a Free Market

For those who know me (or are familiar with my former blog, Political Doodle), you are well aware that I am a pablum puking liberal. That said, I have to admit that I have begun to believe in the “free market”  –  a market that is unfettered by laws and regulations where there is no intervention by the state.

I say HELL YES to a free market. . . in sports. If only the free market ruled, we’d have so much more time for relationships.

Oh, I’m still in favor of OSHA and I certainly think banks and credit card companies need to be regulated so they can’t rip us off as much as before.  I really, really want to see free market principles applied to sports because we all know that, given freedom from those nasty interventions by umpires and referees, sports will finally be what it always was meant to be – a playing field (in the truest sense of the word) where players and owners rely on  basic common sense and self-policing to keep everything in order.

Can’t you just see it? Football players who never make an illegal hit because. . . well, because they care about the game and they know it just wouldn’t be in their own best interests. Gone will be the days of your favorite man, screaming at the ref, because there will be no need for refs – no rules to break!

Imagine how much fun summers will be when no one is arguing about whether it’s a ball or a strike. Let the market decide!

I really believe we are in for nirvana when this free market approach to sports finally becomes a reality. Will tickets cost less when their prices are determined by supply and demand? Will more sports arenas be built because their billionaire owners – no longer impeded by government subsidies – will be free to build them anywhere in the country?

Do I hear choking from my male readers? What? Without subsidies we wouldn’t have a new Yankee stadium? With no rules, players would be tearing each other to shreds on the field?

Hmmm. I guess freedom isn’t free.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 9th, 2010 at 10:29 AM and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  1. Hwarkin says:

    Who needs abstract sports analogies to debunk the myths of the free market? Somalia is a real life example of a pure free market economy — a true Libertarian paradise.
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4017147.stm

  2. donna says:

    What brought this on???

  3. David says:

    Wow! This much energy for something as “insignificant” as sports. The free market would simplify things — players would be paid after every game, if they managed to get through it without getting hurt. No more ESPN, which would be a mixed blessing (farewell, Chris Berman and Erin Andrews!). The Daytona 500 with gas stations, instead of pit stops — imagine Tony Stewart cleaning his own windshields. and figuring out if he pays by cash or credit. There are a lot of places to try out the free market theory — how about national defense? We could test Chris Rock’s theory — the guns are free, but you got to pay for the bullets!

  4. Bill L says:

    1) Let’s put a twist on your hypothetical- What would happen to football if the govt – so necessary for fairness and justice in the market apparently – took over the role of officiating the game?

    2) In the market, suppliers to compete to attract discriminating customers, but just as much *cooperation* takes place, and the end result is a *mutually beneficial* exchange

    3) The market is simply hundreds of millions of exchanges among voluntary adults – how exactly can ANY entity “regulate” this vast array of exchanges? And who exactly benefits?

    4) How exactly do thousands of unofficiated “pick up” games take place around the world on a daily basis?

    5) Prior to GOVT sponsored militia activity, how do explain how for a period of over a year, Somalia had a stable currency, a quickly thriving market, and reinvigorated family ties in a complete absense of govt?

    6) Why is it okay to threaten people who want to engage in voluintary contract?

    Liberals – long on snark, short on insight, feelings over principles.

Leave a Reply

Feed Shark